The 2024 season was a breakout year for QB Sam Darnold. After a shaky start to his career in New York, Darnold thrived with the Vikings last season.
He started all 17 games for Minnesota and had career-best numbers across the board. However, the Vikings did not re-sign Darnold long-term. Instead, he signed a three-year, $100 million deal with Seattle. On Tuesday, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was asked if there’s any chance Darnold will not be the Week 1 starter. Macdonald called the radio host “crazy” and said the team is committed to Darnold being their starter for 2025.
Sam Darnold will start for the Seahawks in Week 1
“Sam’s our starting quarterback.”#Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald to @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk on @SeattleSports.
FULL VIDEO 📺: https://t.co/2nHH3MqeNL pic.twitter.com/ZSwNxMOpR7
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) June 3, 2025
Ahead of the 2025 season, the Seattle Seahawks have made several changes to the roster. They traded QB Geno Smith to the Raiders and WR DK Metcalf to the Steelers. To replace Smith, Seattle signed free agent Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100 million deal. On Tuesday, the Seahawks had an open-to-the-media OTA session. Reportedly, Sam Darnold had a “rollercoaster” day.
Afterward, head coach Mike Macdonald was asked if there was any chance Sam Darnold would not be the Week 1 starter. Macdonald kept himself composed and said he respected the radio host for asking the question. However, he called the host “crazy” for even thinking the team has doubts about Darnold. Mike Macdonald reinforced Seattle’s commitment to Sam Darnold as their QB moving forward.
One shaky day at an open OTA session is not enough for Sam Darnold to lose his starting job. This is Darnold’s first offseason with Seattle and his fourth team in as many seasons. He’s coming off a career-best year where he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. That’s why the Seahawks gave him a sizeable contract this offseason. The backups for Seattle in 2025 are Drew Lock and a rookie out of Alabama, Jalen Milroe. If the season goes downhill for Darnold, Seattle could turn to one of these backups.
